3.7 – Sharing and Caring

I have come to understand that how mainstream U.S. culture has taught me to think about money, wealth and possessions (that is, to highly value those things and to desire them increasingly more and more) as something that is likely to promote violence. The reason that I say this, is because of how I ‘heard’ a Native American view, which was the expressed opposition to overvaluing money. Specifically, Aleck Paul, a Chippewa, explained in Our Stock of Food and Clothes (Nabokov, 1999, pp. 85-87.)

When the white people came, they commenced killing all the game. They left nothing on purpose to breed and keep up the supply, because the white man don’t care about the animals. They are after the money. After the white man kills all of the game in one place he can take the train and go three hundred miles or more to another and do the same there (Nabokov, 1999, p. 86.).

What Mr. Paul was expressing was that when the European immigrants came into Chippewa territory, they would exploit the resources without regard for maintaining environmental sustainability. Their only concern was to make as much profit as possible from their exploitations of the environment, and then move on to do the same elsewhere once the resources were depleted. This was different than the Chippewa way.

In contrast to this sort of environmentally devastating behavior, Mr. Paul explained that the Chippewa act differently. They do not need government regulation concerning hunting. This is because the Chippewa “must protect the game or starve,” Paul said (Nabokov, 1999, p. 87.). In other words, the Chippewa people do not need governmental regulation because they act with self-regulation.

After gaining this Native American perspective on resource management, I question the assumptions that I have learned about the capitalistic ideals of competition and profit and consumption. I now see that if a person’s priority is to ‘get ahead’, and get wealthy, that person may be too focused on those goals in order to be able to see that such actions are detrimental in the long term. Therefore, when a society is culturally taught to overvalue wealth, competition and consumption – and especially acquiring beyond one’s need, it is likely that resources will be depleted in such a way that others are unable to have their needs met. Then, unmet needs increase competition such that conflict is likely to result – thus the need for governance.

In essence, what I have concluded from Mr. Paul’s story is that when people act with self-regulation there is likely to be less conflict and less need for other-governance. Yet, if some people are competing in order to get ahead, those who self-regulate will be ‘left behind’. This too can cause conflicts. Therefore, self-regulation promotes peace only when everyone self-regulates. The two different life-ways are incompatible.

References:

Nabokov, P. (1999). Native American testimony: a chronicle of Indian-white relations from prophecy to the present, 1492-2000. Penguin Group USA.

On May 28, Kristina Bravo reported in takepartthat for the first time in sixteen years, the Colorado River has reached its final destination, returning to the Gulf of California. Finally, we in the U.S., are learning how to be good neighbors. For years, we have been denying our southern neighbors their right to fresh water. We have done this by building dams and diverting the Colorado River to places like Las Vegas and Los Angeles. This has prevented the river from flowing into Mexico as it once did, naturally and historically. This action violated treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, and has caused drought conditions, the loss of crops, the loss of livelihoods, poverty and many other social ills for the Mexican people.

In addition to limiting the availability of fresh water in Mexico, the U.S. also disrupts Mexican food markets in other ways. This is because the U.S. federal government subsidizes U.S. grain producers. That means that the taxpayers of the U.S. fund the grain producers, so that the prices of grain are kept artificially low. By this arrangement, commodity traders are able to flood the world markets with ‘cheap grain’, thereby displacing the farming economies in other nations, such as Mexico. These U.S. policies have negatively impacted the wellbeing of our Mexican neighbors in many ways.

The consequences of U.S. economic policies, such as these, are the impoverishment of our neighbors. Farming families in Mexico become no longer able sustain themselves, as they once did for generations. Therefore they flock to border cities, to maquiladoras, the manufacturing facilities in the so called Free Trade Zones. They go to the maquiladoras looking for factory work. The Free Trade Zones are areas in Mexico where ‘American’ factories are set up in order to capitalize on cheap ‘foreign’ labor. Yet, these new jobs in the maquiladoras do not provide the Mexican people with an adequate compensation or means for survival.

The major labor force, in these maquiladoras, is that of young female workers, because they will work longer and harder, for less money, and with less protest than men will. This is the typical situation in any industry where the main labor force is that of women. In any industry that is mainly sustained by the labor of women, with very few men laborers, you can be fairly certain that the working conditions are such that men refuse to tolerate them. This is because young women are more willing than men to work in oppressive and exploitative conditions for poverty wages, and this is a perfect opportunity, for those with the power and desire to do so, to profit from capitalistic gain at the expense of vulnerable others.

Furthermore, the living conditions that surround the maquiladoras are meager. They are slums, without adequate housing, plumbing, electricity or fresh, clean water. This condition exists because too many displaced farming families have fled their homes hoping to find an economic means of survival elsewhere, but the jobs that they do find do not compensate them adequately so that they can improve their living conditions. It might be questioned why the displaced Mexican farmers migrate to such areas. An important consideration in this forced migration situation is asking where ‘elsewhere’ might be if one’s skills for their traditional way of life do not easily transfer to a new economy. What are the options that exist for the Mexican people in light of the affects of U.S. policy?

In order to survive, some Mexican people have risked their lives to come to the U.S. looking for work. The work that they find is generally in industries that citizens of the U.S. refuse. That is, many immigrants become migrant workers, working in dangerous conditions, harvesting crops that are grown here. Likewise, many become domestics, cleaning the homes of the privileged who can afford such luxuries.. These are professions that are essentially working in servitude.

Regardless of the work that they do find, the professions they take on are generally those of hard, backbreaking work for very little pay. This means that others benefit from their labor, while they barely survive. Because of U.S. economic policy, many Mexican people have found themselves trapped in a situation that offers them few choices and very little opportunity.

Therefore, it is clear that U.S. taxpayers subsidize the oppression, exploitation and abuse of the Mexican people, in order that we, as a country, may profit from commodity trading, and the cheap goods produced elsewhere, and also the cheap labor here for those tasks that we prefer not to do. It is good to see that our policy and actions are beginning to change. Restoring the Colorado River to more closely resemble its natural flow is a move in the right direction. Yet, restoring 1% of the river’s pre-dam flow is not enough. More still needs to be done, if we are going to become good neighbors.

Today, Josh and I prepared the raised bed at our community garden. When we arrived at our little plot of land, the bed was bare, and had a few weeds growing. So, we pulled up the weeds, raked out some trash and dug down a bit to see what the soil was like. We did not see any evidence of worms or other small life forms. Yet, we know that alive and healthy soil is full of worms and other small critters. So we set out to fix that.

Josh and I went home to get some worms from our worm bin and some supplies in order to make them comfortable in their soon-to-be new home. When we returned, we dug a little trench down the center of the bed, and put in some red wigglers and many, many worm eggs. Then we covered them over with soil. Worms do not like sunshine! Next, we watered the soil. Worms do like moisture. Finally, we put on a layer of leaves to cover over the soil, and provide the worms with something to eat until the compost arrives.

A good friend of mine, and organic gardener, Moira Ryan, who we dearly miss, always advised, “Nowhere in nature, does bare soil exist”. That is to say, when soil is left bare, the life in it is destroyed and then the soil disappears. Many folks may not think of soil as alive, but it is. Amazingly, there is more life living in healthy soil, than can ever live on top of it. Healthy soil will be alive with worms, other small critters, micorrhizae, and all sorts of microbes that I have come to think of as ‘the micro-herd’. All of this life is desirable and we should encourage it and support it. This is the reason that when we garden, we try to disturb the soil as little as possible and this is why we keep it covered.

Once we finished preparing the bed and covering the soil, we then stepped back to see how nice it looked. We thought to ourselves that perhaps we might lose our leaf mulch if there was a big wind. That would not be a nice thing to happen to our neighbors, finding our leaves all over. So we topped it all off with some cardboard boxes. To hold them in place we used a few pieces of wood. A good rain would sure help the soil and the soil critters a great deal right now. We intend to keep the leaves and cardboard in place in order to retain soil moisture and to also keep the weeds down. An extra bonus of the mulching is that it will all eventually break down into new and healthy soil.

It is so nice to have fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables, but gardening, to us, is about much more than just growing food. This project will be a part of Josh’s homeschool curriculum. He can learn about horticulture and community building while working on this project. Furthermore, because the small act of gardening puts one in touch with nature, it is natural that he will be learning about environmental issues, too. In this way, our summertime fresh-food project will be a hobby that produces, rather than a hobby of consumption. Our little garden plot will produce fresh fruits and vegetables, some healthy outdoor exercise, plus an educational opportunity in the sciences, social studies, and in creation care. This is truly a More-with-Less adventure.

On Mother’s Day, my dear son and I plan to return to our little garden plot in order to install some fencing for trellis, and perhaps plant a few cold weather crops, too.

I’ve been busy preparing for the gardening season. Last fall, my family had the old trees in our front yard cut down. This was done for safety reasons, but also to allow more sunshine into our yard. We will be planting more and more of our yard, each year, to fruits and vegetables. This year, we added 12 more blueberry bushes, so that now we have a total of 15. We also planted 4 pear trees. We had the branches of our trees chipped and shredded and left in a huge pile in our lawn. I’ll be spreading that over my growing beds this year to act as mulch.

The reason I am mulching, in this way, is because it is very good for the soil and for my plants, too. Mulch helps to smother the weeds, so that there are less of them. It also keeps the moisture from evaporating from the soil, so less watering is necessary. Because the soil then stays soft and moist, when there are weeds, it takes less effort to remove them. Plus, as the mulch decomposes, it adds organic matter to the soil, so very crucial for the wellbeing of the microbes, fungi and other critters that are an important component of healthy, living soil. Mulch, therefore, provides a healthy environment, full of nutrients that my plants need, while at the same time, saving me effort in the long run. Furthermore, I spend less money on and use less resources such as water, and I have no need for pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. This way of gardening is truly an example of living more-with-less.

Image Source: http://www.fortedwardchamber.org/community.garden/

Yesterday, I joined the Fort Edward Community Garden. The Fort Edward Community Garden was begun last year through the vision and effort of the Village Baptist Church, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others in the community. Its purpose is to provide a place for community members to come together to grow fresh fruits and vegetables and also to support the Fort Edward Community Food Pantry. The garden is located at the corner of Canal and East Streets. I was glad to have met some really nice folks who are also interested in gardening and growing their own food, and supporting the local community and economy.

Image Source: http://www.wcldc.org/news/page/2/

I understand that before the summer is over, there is to be a farmer’s market, Fort Edward Canal Street Marketplace, in the village, too. It is planned that there will be market space for vendors both inside and outside of the 200-year-old storage building that sits behind the Fort Edward Town Hall. Plans for renovation, through volunteer effort, are currently under way. In addition to building renovations, the sight is planned to have sidewalks, lighting, and public restrooms. The Fort Edward Canal Street Marketplace is being designed with heating and cooling so that it can be a four-season marketplace, serving the community by offering us local products year round. How exciting!

My friend, Tom DeWolf has been interviewed for a “Cities Tour” C-Span segment that is to air today, Saturday, 4/5/2014 @ 4:30 pm. EDT. In this segment, Coming to the Table, an organization that “provides leadership, resources and a supportive environment for all who wish to acknowledge and heal wounds from racism that is rooted in the United States’ history of slavery,” is is prominently featured in this segment. Tom discussed the book that he co-authored with Sharon Leslie Morgan, Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade, in which they wrote of their exploration into the “deep social wounds left by racism, violence and injustice.” It is their hope that their work inspires “a national dialogue about the legacies of slavery and racism” and that it offers “practical guidance for individuals and groups who want to heal themselves and America” from our traumatic past.

Situations of privilege and disadvantage are connected in that one situation cannot exist without the other, and they lie on opposite ends of a spectrum. Privilege happens only in relation to disadvantage, and likewise disadvantage happens only in relation to privilege. This does not mean that social dynamics cannot change, because they certainly do change not only for individuals, but also for groups and even societies.

Systems of privilege/disadvantage (which is a very different social dynamic than individual acts of discrimination) have been historically created in such a way that certain members of society automatically receive benefit for the simple reason that they were born into the membership of a privileged group. What this means is that in the U.S. (as in other countries) we, as a society, have historically created social systems that automatically privilege certain groups of people – those groups being the group of men (male privilege) the group of white-skinned people (white-skin privilege) the group of non-disabled people (able-ism), and the group of heterosexual people (heterosexism), for example. Being born into these groups automatically entitles members to certain privileges:

higher paying jobs for men (translates to less poverty for men).

less likelihood of incarceration for white-skinned folks (translates to less poverty for white-skinned folks).

ease in mobility for non-disabled people (translates into greater work opportunity and less chance of poverty for nondisabled folks).

tax and insurance benefits, plus the ability to make medical decisions for heterosexual partners (translates into less poverty for heterosexual couples).

Non-privileged group members do not have the same opportunity to enjoy these benefits to the same degree as members of privileged groups do. This inequality can be seen in socioeconomic status statistics, for example.

In other words, members of marginalized and stigmatized groups (women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community, for example) are generally excluded from participating FULLY in mainstream society, sometimes by discrimination, sometimes by group dynamics that create social ‘norms’, and sometimes even by law. One cannot ‘give up’ the privilege even if the privilege is not wanted, because it is bestowed onto members of certain groups by society in general. The group of white-skinned, non-disabled heterosexual men is the most privileged group in U.S. society.

It is important to understand, though, that a person can be privileged in one area of their life and simultaneously also be disadvantaged in another. Additionally, one can be a member of an advantaged group and NOT FEEL privileged. Likewise, there can be folks who are members of disadvantaged groups who DO realize areas and degrees of privilege. These few exceptions do not negate the reality of the systemic violence that is embedded into the domination systems that we know as sexism, racism, able-ism, heterosexism, and classism, for example. Although we cannot escape the privileges that society bestows on us, those who do enjoy privilege can use their privilege to empower others. Indeed, it is the folks who do have privilege who have the greatest ability (power) and opportunity to change the unjust systems.

When I became a mother, how I perceived the whole world changed. Before that time, I was influenced much as ‘mainstream U.S. culture’ is influenced: By the media. I was a typical consumer. I had notions that what I should do with my life was to work hard to ‘get ahead’ and work hard – play hard. I lived my life for me, never questioning whom it was that I was trying to get ahead of, or whom it was that I was leaving behind. Additionally, I did not realize that another way of perceiving my lifestyle was thinking of it as one of over-consumption. My way of thinking changed as a result of my decision to homeschool my children.

At the time that we decided to be a homeschooling family, my husband, Bill, and I, decided to lighten our work schedules to make time for teaching. Because of our then limited income, we determined that we would become a little less wasteful, a little more resourceful, and a lot more self-sufficient. My new reading genres included topics such as thrift, frugality and homesteading. This lifestyle of teaching our children also led me to my own new learning adventure, including learning a new way of life – a more-with-less lifestyle.

I discovered the more-with-less ideology from a cookbook, The More with Less Cookbook (1976), by Doris Janzen Longacre. This cookbook contained simple recipes and suggestions on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited food resources. I also read its companion book,Living More with Less (1980), also by Doris Janzen Longacre. This book offered its readers a pattern for living with less and a wealth of suggestions for simple, sustainable, sane and healthy living. These books taught me ‘another way’ to frame my thinking. They opened my eyes, transformed my worldview, my value systems, and my way of life. This other way is a way of consuming less of the world’s limited resources while at the same time living life more. The more-with-less books, by Doris Janzen Longacre are about food, consumption, and social justice. I’ve come to think of the more-with-less concept as a way of creating a world of greater social justice, or rather different way of thinking about getting our ‘just desserts’.

In retrospect, I can see that the dominant culture’s influence had a major impact on my youth, including my opinions, decisions, and actions. Yet, at that time, I did not recognize that fact. I lacked knowledge concerning the social realities of ‘others’, and especially of others in what we, in the western world, now label ‘developing countries’. I did not have a very good understanding of my own situation of extreme privilege in relation to worldwide realities. It was not until I had a need to learn another way of living for my own personal wellbeing that I became conscious of how little I knew. I can see now that my knowledge was especially lacking concerning other ways of thinking related to resource scarcity and how people choose to relate to one another, and how they think of personal wellbeing.

In my youth, during the Reagan years, I bought into the political propaganda of that time. Many people (including myself) loved him for his trickle-down economic policy, which became known as “Reaganomics”. Reaganomics, by decreasing tax rates, also increased the wealth of the wealthy and it also increased the consumption ability of the not so wealthy. This increased ability to consume felt like increased wellbeing to me. Businesses loved Reagan because he deregulated industry. This helped to keep prices low, and also created notions of wellbeing that I bought into. His stand against the U.S.S.R., and all things communist, provided the country with an opposition and therefore also a patriotism to root for. This felt good to me, too. While Ronald Reagan was president, it seemed that economy prospered and it felt as though I was prospering, too. I now know that although the country enjoyed high employment rates, and a rather prosperous few years, Reagan also made a lot of decisions that were detrimental in the long term. In reality, national debt increased, and this is what allowed for the impression of prosperity. His actions against the air traffic controllers strike acted to dismantle the power of organized labor. The deregulation of many industries helped business prosper, but at the cost of the environment. His escalation of the Cold War against the U.S.S.R. helped to increase the number of nuclear weapons on the planet. His new laws for drug offenses increased incarceration rates and the racial disparities in the prison population, while doing nothing to curb illegal drug use. Today, I now know that we live with greater environmental concerns, greater amounts of national debt, a new industry based on incarceration with its new form of slave labor, and we have an income disparity larger than ever before. It is clear to me today that the negative impacts of the economic policies of this skilled actor (that seemed very good at the time) still plague us today. I can see by my change in worldview in circumstances of politics and social justice that our modes of thinking and perceiving the world are not fixed, but rather, they are influenced and can and do change over time.

My most current knowledge of world affairs no longer comes exclusively from popular culture news sources. It now comes primarily from a new education. The combination of homeschooling my children, and learning about alternative (less-consuming) lifestyles had led me to desire a college education (something that I previously did not have the privilege to pursue) at a rather late stage in my life. This is how my political opinions have been persuaded, by my new education. Today, I am very glad for my new greater awareness and understanding of the world and my place within it. In retrospect, I can see that although my youth was very ‘real’ to me, I truly lived in a sort of fantasy world that was based more so on a white-washed history and that of myths than it was on reality.

I also now have a new understanding of wellbeing. My priorities have changed. I no longer attach my self-worth to my socioeconomic status or my ability to gain material possessions or to my ability to consume. I now think of wellbeing in terms of quality time with my family, and how satisfied I am with my overall life outcome. I now think of my life in relation to the past and the present and also in relation to the experiences of others on a worldwide scale. I have found that I have become a much more grateful person, realizing the degree of privilege that I possess.

My new awareness allows me greater choice and opportunity than what I had before. This is mainly because I now have a more expansive view and therefore understanding. I am able to see from perspectives inclusive of other’s viewpoints. I am less likely to think in terms of either/or and right or wrong. I am also beginning to see the world less objectively and more relationally, instead. The framing of my thoughts is changing according to the new information I am gaining.

One very important change in my awareness is that I now understand that many of my thinking processes, like everyone else’s, may very well be short of being completely rational. Daniel Kahneman, Nobellaureate in Economicsand author of Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011), in his conversation with Richard Layard at the London School of Economics (Thinking Fast and Slow, n.d.) explained how the human mind works in non-rational ways. He referred to the ‘fast and slow’ thinking as system one, and system two. System one is a fast, automatic, effortless, intuitive thought process, but it has a weakness in that its intuitive nature is prone to errors. System two monitors and controls behaviors. It is slower, more laborious and a more accurate process; yet it is prone to “paralysis by analysis”. What this means is that our brains “produce mistakes” when they do not have skilled knowledge for the questions they must respond to. In these types of circumstances, they use the information they do have (including unskilled intuitions and strong emotions) to make a “consistent story” that may be very convincing and compelling, yet prone to error. The subconscious thinking of system one does a great majority of the brain’s work, and it does it very efficiently, but sometimes at the cost of rationality.

Marketers are aware of this shortcoming in people’s ability to rationalize, and this is why they appeal to people’s emotions rather than rationality when selling products and services to make a profit. This leads to the reason that a psychology professor was a recipient of a Nobel Prize for economics. Kahneman questioned standard economic theory that assumes people have consistent and stable preferences and use them to make rational decisions. Against popular belief, Kahneman proved that people do not always respond to situations rationally.

This new understanding of people’s thinking errors carries implications for the importance of public policy and government regulations. If people are rational then there is no need to protect them from their own mistakes, but if people are not always rational thinkers, and they are prone to making highly predictable mistakes, then perhaps a degree of policy and regulation is warranted as a means of protection against predators.

Public policy and government regulation are important safeguards against predation by unscrupulous business practices, and so is education. Kahneman stated that his main reason for writing the book Thinking, Slow and Fast was to “educate gossip” by introducing more sophisticated concepts concerning how people make decisions. He said that giving people this knowledge along with a terminology and a language to use, would help them in finding and correcting their own thinking errors, in addition to thinking errors of others. The purpose of his book was to bring awareness of our individual and collective cognitive biases, so that we may protect ourselves against them.

This is, in a way, what the more-with-less books did for me, because they corrected my thinking biases. I had grown up in a very individualistic culture, and one that is based on economic principles established on a need to compete for limited resources. The more-with-less books taught me that there are other ways of thinking about resources and economy. For example, instead of competing for resources, I learned that we could conserve resources. Likewise, instead of competing with one another, we could work together cooperatively and in collaboration with one anther. This new way of life, one that I am still attempting to develop, is credited to Doris Janzen Longacre, because she gave me a new language to use, and a new way to frame my thoughts. Likewise, my education is continuing the process by introducing more sophisticated concepts, terminology, and language such that where my mental processes may fall short, I can be aware of the tendency so that I may safeguard myself, and perhaps others also, against them.

Challenge those in power to share resources more fairly, isn’t this what the stories of Jesus teach us? We can read in the stories of Jesus life, that he taught those disempowered people who lived on the fringes of Jewish society – those who were stigmatized and excluded from society, such as the gentiles, the women, the disabled, and the widows, for example, a way to regain their power. These folks were disempowered and poor because those in power created systems for the purpose of excluding them from fully participating in society. To address this injustice, Jesus taught marginalized peoples to come together and challenge those in power to live more socially responsible lives: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the ill. He also challenged all people to make friends with their ‘enemies’ and share the earth’s blessings with them. We can relate the stories of Jesus teaching people about social responsibility and methods to create greater social justice to our own lives today.

Today, the ‘1%’ are keeping too much of the profit and wealth (which their workers actually produce) for themselves, and this great wealth is the source of their great power. This creates an imbalance in power and also an unequal access to resources, resulting in a disruption to the functioning of the ‘ecosystem’ of the economy by limiting diversity. Limited diversity is not resilient or sustainable. We can see how this is true in the example of nature and relate that to economic theory. When there is a population explosion (think of economies of scale), a die-off (think of times of economic downturns) always follows. We can see how this is true with the ‘ecosystem’ of the economy when we see that unrestricted growth produced by ‘economies of scale’ is not good in the long term. Consider the economies of scale, and how large entities have limited diversity such that when one entity faces risk, all of the population is at risk. This risk is why some entities are considered ‘too big to fail’. To have a healthy and sustainable ecosystem (including economic ecosystems), it is necessary to maintain diversity. We would do well to learn from and imitate nature. When those in power do share their power and resources more equally, they allow for increased diversity, increased resiliency, increased productivity, and increased wellbeing for all.

To even consider what it means to be a ‘well-educated person’ identifies a well-educated person as one of special distinction. This is because the privilege of obtaining a higher education sets one apart from others and provides one with special opportunity. The learning required of an educated person is a process of gaining knowledge in a way that distinguishes one as an expert in a particular profession, calling, lifework or field. For some, to be educated might mean to focus in-depth on an insight into a particular subject of interest. Yet, others may find the need to expand their knowledge in a broad way in order to better understand themselves and others and our surrounding world. Some might have the view that one approach (focusing versus expanding) is the correct approach, but in reality, each method works to fill a special need. Likewise, identifying ourselves and others based on levels of education (educated versus uneducated) simultaneously creates notions of superiority and inferiority that perhaps might better be avoided. Therefore, rather than attempting to define what it means to be a well-educated person, perhaps it is better for me to consider instead my purpose for gaining a particular form and extent of education and what specific knowledge I may need to achieve those goals.

My purpose for gaining a higher education is so that I can use this knowledge to create my vision of a better world. This would be a world where folks no longer competed with each other in the increasing consumption of supposedly limited natural resources. Instead, it would be a world in which folks acted in community and in a way that cared for one another and their environment in order to expand and share available resources, and it would be a world where all people would have their basic needs met. My vision for a better world would be one of much greater peace and harmony.

Some important educational goals that I have are consistent with what Marcy Paulson wrote in her essay, Benefits of a Liberal Arts Education (Paulson, M., n.d.). They are: to have curiosity and imagination; to be able to access and analyze information; to be able to think critically and solve problems; to be able to initiate, collaborate and provide leadership; to be agile and adaptable; and to have the ability to communicate well. To be clear, Paulson was pointing out that these skills are “essential in a powerful workforce that is ready to compete in the global marketplace (Paulson, M., n.d.).” Yet these skills are not only essential to compete powerfully in an economic sense, they likewise are essential in accessing power for the purpose of building community, sustainability, and a lasting peace. The education I seek is one that does not so much tell me what to think, but rather it allows me the privilege and freedom to discover the best way for me to use the gifts that our creator has given to me, and it will allow me to fulfill a very special need.

It appears that I value a liberal arts education. William Cronon confirmed this notion of a liberal arts education when he wrote that a “[l]iberal education is built on these values: it aspires to nurture the growth of human talent in the service of human freedom . . . But what might an education for human freedom actually look like? (Cronon, W., n.d.).” Cronon questions, and so do I, what abstract values (such as freedom or peace) actually mean, and how might a person go about discovering the answer to such questions.

Cronon reminds his readers that the original medieval list of liberal arts required courses were necessary learning before one could attain the status of becoming a ‘free man’. Today, our notions of freedom have expanded such that we now “include a greater range of human talents and a much more inclusive number of human beings, holding out at least the dream that everyone might someday be liberated by an education that stands in the service of human freedom (Cronon, W., n.d.)”. The liberal education that I value is one that gives me the freedom to discover, in my own way, the way in which I may best be of service to my fellow human beings. Yet, it is clear that I cannot accomplish this on my own. I need to lean on and rely on my broader community and their generosity, knowledge and wisdom. It is also clear that this situation binds me in a relationship where I will also have responsibilities to my community that ultimately limits my freedom.

This notion of connectedness leads me to expand on the previous list of educational goals that I maintain. Therefore, I desire to always have imagination and a curiosity about everything and everyone. Because of this, I wish to read and understand what I read, and I want the ability to speak with anyone, communicating well by the use of both listening and hearing what they say and mean. When I access and analyze information, I want to be able to think critically in order to solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems. I want to understand how to get things done in the world and I want to nurture and empower others to do the same. I would like to practice humility, tolerance, and self-criticism, therefore I want also to respect academic and professional rigor not so much for its or my own sake but as a way of seeking truth. I want to be agile and adaptable to changes in the world and those around me. Additionally, I want to be able to write and speak clearly, persuasively, and movingly. Finally, I would like to be able to connect all of this learning in community so that we together may gain the wisdom and ability to make a positive difference in our own lives and the lives of others.

To my way of thinking, to be an educated person is to be a person of distinction, for sure. This distinction is a privilege that sets me apart and requires certain responsibilities from me. This is because learning is not only a process of gaining knowledge of oneself and others and our surrounding world. It is also gaining the ability to create what did not used to be and to understand what once, before, we could not see, and ultimately it is to share these new things with the broader community.

I did a small ‘ethnoraphic study’, and spoke with a young lady who I assumed to be an African-American. When she questioned me about racial discrimination in the southern states, I suggested that perhaps she might know better than I. This is when she explained to me that she was from one of the Caribbean islands and came to this country when she was very young. I apologized and told her that it was very wrong of me to have made an assumption based solely on her skin color.

It is interesting to consider that how we think about race in ‘America’ is unique. We, many times, use a hyphenated distinction to clarify an ancestral heritage. For example, we might distinguish some ‘Americans’ as African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and even Native-Americans. Yet, we rarely do so for those with a European heritage. We should ask ourselves why this may be. We might even ask ourselves what we mean when we use the term ‘American’.

I would suggest that using the term ‘American’ to describe U.S. Americans is quite ethnocentric, for sure. There are two entire continents that are named America, in which there are many, many countires. When ‘we’ refer to the U.S.A. as ‘America’ it is not acknowledging that there are other Americans who are, in fact, not U.S. citizens.

I think that it is good for me to identify myself as a U.S. American of European descent. This is not unlike my recent and intentional use of my white-skin racial classification. If I intentionally acknowledge my dual privileges as a U.S. American of European descent and my white-skin privilege, then I am more likely to be acknowledging others’ disadvantage. Then I might be more likely to work to change the unjust system of power and privilege. Attempting to be ‘colorblind’ does not acknowledge others uniqueness or their possible disadvantage.

I think it very important to acknowledge my extreme privilege because then I find myself acting with much more generosity toward others who do not enjoy the same privilege. I have found the need to take this position because I have learned of the difficult life of Bolivian coffee growers, the Mexican migrant farm workers, and the Mexican women working in the maquiladoras just south of the U.S./Mexico border, for example.

Coffee growers, for the most part, live a very impoverished life – even as they grow one of the world’s most profitable commodities – and even as many of us are willing to sip Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks at $2.00 per cup while the growers, many times, do not even earn enough to cover the costs of growing.

Mexican migrant farm workers (including children) are oftentimes used for the harvest of the foods we eat (affecting their education that contributes to a cycle of poverty for these families). The harvest of tomatoes (here in the U.S.A.) is one very good example of the use of child labor in agriculture. The film, The Harvest, documents the unacceptable condition of child-workers that live this life.

The stories of the young women, who are exploited as they work in U.S.A. owned ‘American’ factories just south of the U.S./Mexican border (maquiladoras), are documented in the anthology, Ethnography at the Border, by Pablo Vila. These stories have given new meaning to the description, ‘American Made’, for me.

Acknowledgment of my own extreme privilege in relation to these American neighbors of mine prompts me to now be aware of how my shopping decisions affect them personally and this encourages me to make changes in my actions to either better their situation, or else minimally, to not contribute further to the hardships they already endure.

For example, I now purchase my coffee from Equal Exchange, a cooperative of growers and distributors that was created so that coffee growers could avoid the use of ‘coyotes’ (middlemen) in the marketing of their product, and thereby realize a greater profit for the growers. I now grow a larger and larger garden of my own each year so that I am not relying so much on the exploitation of child-labor for my food needs. Additionally, I now make an attempt to know about the working conditions of those that produce the goods and services that I consume such as is the case in the maquiladoras. This way, I can support the businesses that I believe offer working conditions that are less exploitative and offer greater equity of profit for their workers.

When we, U.S. Americans, do not acknowledge that there are, in fact, very real differences in the life circumstances between us and our less-privileged American neighbors, we are much less likely to see our own position of domination in this hierarchical system of oppression.

If any of us drink coffee or tea, or consume chocolate that is not ‘fairly traded’ or if we eat foods that we did not grow ourselves, or used goods that are produced overseas in ‘developing nations’, there is a very real possibility that we are, through our purchasing decisions, oppressing and exploiting others. We all play a part in a hierarchical system of domination, but for the most part, are completely unaware of this fact. In the very same way that many white-skinned folks are ignorant to their position of racial privilege, so are most U.S. citizens ignorant to their position of extreme privilege in world wide affairs.

...is a human rights, solution based collective, grounded in truth. The Initiative's purpose is to unite and empower any and every American, regardless of race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or socioeconomic standing, to improve their present day American condition.